52 Breed Notes – Dec 2025

When I wrote my ‘Doom and Gloom’ for the November issue of the magazine, I thought that things wouldn’t improve much and unfortunately, I was correct.

In 2025, there have only been 12 litters resulting in just 60 puppies – 34 dogs, 26 bitches and with 9 fatalities. At least there haven’t been as many misses as in previous years with only 4 that I have heard of; but even that’s at least a quarter of all matings missing. Again, only 2 C sections reported – which is nearly 20% of all litters.

Of the 12 litters born only 4 were of a decent size (1×9, 2×7 & 1×6) with the rest being 5 or fewer, but at least there weren’t any singletons. Nine girls had their first litter this year and of the dogs being used at stud this year, only three boys were being used for the first time with just one repeat mating.

Puppy enquires generally have been far and few between; but with nearly half the litters (5 litters = 27 puppies) all being born within a space of 6 weeks, it’s not surprising that supply far exceeded demand. Although enquiries do seem to be picking up; what is the point when there are not going to be any puppies available in the foreseeable future?

Out of the twenty-five sets of CC’s keesies have annually, in 2025, 12 Ch judges had 20 or fewer Keesies present, with only 7 Ch shows (which includes Crufts and the 4 club shows) attracting entries of over 30 dogs. So, what does that have to say about the state of affairs I wonder – apart from the fact that we need to lose at least half our CC allocation?

A reminder that your subs for both clubs are due; details for the Keeshond Club’s open show at Roade VH at the end of the month can be found on Have A Dog Day and the schedule for the NoEKC’s open show will also be up there shortly.

Anji Marfleet